Street of First Doctrine
35. What Is Obedience?
Street of First Doctrine: first Catholic doctrine for souls learning how to believe, pray, and live.
"If you love me, keep my commandments." - John 14:15
is the by which a person submits his will to God and to lawful under God. A beginner must learn because conversion is a return from self-will to divine order.
The catechism answer is simple: is the that makes us promptly and faithfully do the will of God and lawful in all that is not sin.
is not slavery to men. It is freedom from rebellion under the kingship of God.
The question is not, "How can I keep control while appearing religious?" It is, "Do I submit to God?"
Sin began with disobedience. Salvation is revealed through the of Christ. The Christian life cannot be built on private self-rule while using Catholic words.
The soul must learn to say yes to God.
Our Lord the Father unto death, even the death of the Cross. His was not weakness. It was the loving surrender by which He redeemed the world.
Every Christian receives meaning from His.
When is hard, the soul should look to Gethsemani and .
God has established real : parents, lawful rulers, pastors, teachers, and superiors according to state of life. is not absolute. It is under God and ordered toward truth, , and the good.
Therefore a Christian should lawful commands that do not require sin.
If a command requires sin, the soul must God rather than men.
Children owe to parents in lawful things. This forms , discipline, gratitude, and reverence for order.
Parents must not use selfishly. They must command what is good, correct with , and lead the home toward God.
A disorderly home teaches rebellion. A rightly ordered home teaches peace.
in is ordered to the faith received from Christ. Catholics owe reverence to true doctrine, order, lawful discipline, and the Christ gave for the salvation of souls.
does not require a soul to accept error, , or commands against God.
True serves truth. It does not become a mask for cowardice or compromise.
Self-will wants its own way, its own timing, its own interpretation, and its own comfort. It resents limits because limits reveal that man is not God.
The obedient soul is not mindless. It is disciplined. It learns to prefer God's will to personal preference.
Many sins continue because self-will refuses small acts of surrender.
should be prompt when the command is lawful and clear. Delayed often hides resistance.
The child who delays, the worker who avoids duty, the penitent who postpones confession, and the Christian who delays conversion all need to examine the will.
Prompt trains the soul to answer quickly.
is not opposed to courage. Sometimes to God requires standing against men, customs, rulers, friends, or public opinion.
The martyrs were obedient because they refused to betray Christ.
The soul must not confuse peace with surrender to evil.
The soul must learn that begins with God.
The soul must learn to lawful in what is not sin.
The soul must learn to refuse commands that require sin.
The soul must learn to fight self-will in daily duties.
The soul must learn prompt response to .
is the that makes us promptly and faithfully do the will of God and lawful in all that is not sin.
A beginner should ask: Do I God plainly? Do I resist lawful because of ? Do I excuse delay? Do I mistake self-will for ? Do I have courage to God when men demand sin?
restores order to the soul. It places God above self, truth above preference, and duty above rebellion.